Guide to Teaching Computer Science: An Activity-Based Approach

by Orit Hazzan

This guide presents both a conceptual framework and detailed implementation guidelines for general computer science (CS) teaching. The content is clearly written and structured to be applicable to all levels of CS education and for any teaching organization, without limiting its focus to instruction for any specific curriculum, programming language or paradigm. presents an overview of research in CS education; examines strategies for teaching problem-solving, evaluating pupils, and for dealing with pupils’ misunderstandings; provides learning activities throughout the book; proposes active-learning-based classroom teaching methods, as well as methods specifically for lab-based teaching; discusses various types of questions that a CS instructor, tutor, or trainer can use for a range of different teaching situations; investigates thoroughly issues of lesson planning and course design; describes frameworks by which prospective CS teachers gain their first teaching experience.

Genres: Teaching

260 pages, Hardcover

First published April 22, 2011

Reviews

[YOGESWARAN S.P.MUNIANDI · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the books that surprises me as each chapter folds. I was reading this book for one of my projects to gain a deep insight into designing a great STEM curriculum I'm working on. Orit Hassan, the author of this book analyses the Method of Teaching Computer Science (MTCS) throughout the book by having relevant components designing a great Computer Science Curriculum by citing his project examples. Let me highlight the chapter that might interest you if you are working on syllabus developments;

1. Chapter 2: Active Learning Based Teaching Model: This chapter obviously highlights active learning in instructions having constructivism as the main module to support it. Simultaneously, the author provides readers with the component of active learning which is useful in designing instructions.

2. Chapter 7: Research in Computer Science: This chapter discussed the importance of research in the Computer Science field especially when it comes to designing and teaching the subject. The author defined 4 categories that are crucial to be known by educators; learning, teaching, computer science perspective from a learner's view, computer science perspective from an educator's view. A few resources are included to aid the research process.

3. Chapter 8: Problem-solving strategies in CS: As most of the Computer Science domain asserted, this chapter has the problem-ing techniques using abstraction, generalization, algorithm, and debugging components underpinned by reflection and feedback methods.

4. Chapter 10: Teaching Method in Computer Science Education: This chapter promotes various pedagogical tools to support CS teaching and curriculum designing. A must chapter for Instructional Designers to have broad views on the appropriate instruction method in CS.

5. Chapter 12: Types of Questions in Computer Science Education: The chapter in the book that really intrigued me flipping the next page after a meticulous reading. This chapter discussed the type of questions that could be designed in CS development and teaching considering cognitive as intellectual skills to solve problems. MUST READ!

6. Chapter 15: Design Method of Teaching Computer Science Education: Reviews of complete chapters where the author described a sample of modules developed in this chapter.

[Kriti | Armed with A Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is aimed at university instructors who will be teaching prospective high school computer science teachers. I am a teacher-in-training and I picked up this book, hoping to
1. Re-familiarize myself with the building blocks of computer concepts: the book did a great job of mentioning these and even fleshing our ideas for teaching hard topics like recursion.
2. Find some lesson planning and teaching strategies: this book is full of activities! Even though they are supposed to be done by preservice teachers, most of them can be easily implemented in high school classes too.
3. Finding about some assessment techniques: these were also thoroughly covered.
I feel that as a preservice teacher, I gained a lot out of it. If I were to teach a course to CS preservice teacher, I would surely refer to this book.
What I appreciated: the amount of research that went into the book as well as the pointers to resources for further reading.
Possible Improvements: I wish that there were more experiences of teachers expressed in the book and specific reflection questions that the instructor could encourage the preservice teacher to reflect upon before and after their lessons. A chapter on a complex computer topic such as abstraction or programming paradigms would have been helpful too.

[Aaron Maurer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this book for a college class as I am earning my CS endorsement. Being in education for 16+ years and doing a lot of work in STEM, makerspace, and CS, I felt this book overcomplicated the essentials of being a good teacher.

While I know the book has much research behind it all, the jargon and language is just too much. Be real. Be practical. And let us not confuse good teaching for any subject with just CS.

Perhaps I am attacking this from the angle of experience, but from what I paid for this book, I did not get the value I hoped to gain. I need to get better and was hoping this book would be it. Once again, the education system has attempted to over complicate essential buiding blocks of being human and learning.